I have often maintained that Latino people in all walks of life are held to a higher standard in terms of expectations, especially in the current political environment. This week I was sent this story about Congresswoman Linda Sanchez, who is now the ranking member of the House Ethics Committee. Basically, Congresswoman Sanchez’s financial disclosures were not accurate. I realize that our Congressional representatives are busy people, but they earn above average salaries so people have above average expectations, especially when it comes to simple accounting.

“There is no allegation of impropriety stemming from the inaccurate disclosure forms, but a review of several years of Sanchez’s financial records shows a history of sloppy record-keeping for a member of Congress whose new job on the ethics committee is to review the ethics and financial disclosures of other lawmakers.

Sanchez also has other holes in her financial disclosure forms. She failed to disclose for more than two years a royalty agreement related to a book she co-wrote with her sister, Rep. Loretta Sanchez (D-Calif.), who has never declared the same royalty agreement on any of her disclosure reports. An aide to Linda Sanchez said the California Democrat never received any money from the book.

In addition, Sanchez appeared to violate the terms of her mortgage on a Capitol Hill condo by renting out the unit in 2009. A document Sanchez signed as part of her 2005 mortgage agreement on the condo — purchased from Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) — barred her from leasing it to another party. The mortgage documents, along with real estate records and financial disclosure forms filed with the House, were reviewed by POLITICO for this report.

However, on her annual disclosure report filed in 2010 — which covers the previous year — Sanchez acknowledged receiving between $5,000 and $15,000 in rental income from the Washington condo. By renting out the unit, Sanchez was required to declare the mortgage on the property on her annual reports, which she did properly.

But Sanchez failed to report a $34,500 home equity line of credit she took out on the condo. When Sanchez reported she owned the property, she misreported the address.

Sanchez sold the Capitol Hill condo to Sen. Scott Brown (R-Mass.) last year for $290,000, according to public records.”

I’m a relatively left leaning non-partisan (not registered with any party), and I like getting information like this about members of Congress regardless of what party they belong to. Anna, why should Rep. Sanchez make repeated errors on her disclosure forms? What — is she entitled just because she’s in congress?

Anna, quit seeing things through the Republican/Democrat blog lens and start looking at the big picture. Democrats and Latinos aren’t somehow above making mistakes. And just because something is legal — that doesn’t mean it’s ok. Sloppy disclosures like this reveal a certain laziness or laxness with accounting. Are those qualities becoming of a member of congress?

Anna, I don’t see where the webmaster is scolding the Congresswoman. She never says, “Bad Sanchez! Sanchez should be taken to task for filling out forms incorrectly and omitting information.” The tone of this blog is very matter of fact.

If you think that this blog is scolding Linda Sanchez, then you must be really sensitive.

The accounting of money and accurate reporting are real issues, especially when funds are tight. There are a lot of blogs on this site that are about “real issues”. It’s funny that you decide to zero in on this one when you could have commented about protest in Cuba, the situation in Arizona, and more. Obviously, you felt compelled to say something, and maybe this post was just written for that — to provoke a reaction.